Inland cargo transportation troops conquer truck rodeo

Thursday

Sep 26, 2013 at 12:01 AMSep 26, 2013 at 12:59 PM

By Sgt. Sean McGuire 27th PAD

If the 82nd Sustainment Brigade needed a motto, ‘We Move the World’ would certainly be in the running.

The brigade, which provides Fort Bragg with logistical support, recently took the time to honor their troops through a gauntlet of friendly competitions. ‘Provider Week’ featured chili barbecues, Army Physical Fitness Tests tug-of-war, and much more.

Soldiers of the 403rd Inland Cargo Transportation Company, 330th Movement Control Battalion, waged against fellow 82nd sustainers in a ‘Truck Rodeo’ that ramped up to the week’s final day of awards.

For the brigade, it was its first truck rodeo. The idea was simple: five man teams of mechanics and transporter troops representing their respective battalions test their skills in an eight-event, round-robin at the arrival depart airfield Control Group. The day’s competition determined who would represent the brigade in an upcoming, Fort Bragg-wide truck rodeo later this year.

Spc. Jeremy Holloway, a truck driver for the 403rd, and his team work 24 hours, seven days a week out of the ADACG, managing all of Fort Bragg’s inbound and outbound operations. He said he feels that day-to-day grind on the job gave them all the edge they needed to take home the gold.

“We are one of the only units in the 82nd that have a live, meaningful mission every single day,” said Holloway.

Echoing the sentiment is teammate Spc. Sammuel Henson. “We work holidays and weekends. But, don’t get me wrong — I love this job. We affect all of Fort Bragg.”

The confidence didn’t stop there. Their team leader, Sgt. Erick Peterson, while loading a humvee onto a flat bed, stressing security and safety, and emphasized the team’s unity.

“I have absolute, total confidence in every one of these guys,” Peterson said. “Nothing happens if you can’t move supplies. That’s where we come in.”

The team fired their way through the events, performing them to near perfection. While each step of the way, ensuring everyone on the ADACG knew who was leading the charge.

“1st platoon, hooah!” Henson would yell almost anytime an ear was around to hear.

Each team member rotated between support duties and completing tasks in front of judges. Price, who the group nicknamed ‘Skeeter’ (and no one had the slightest clue how he acquired the moniker) almost too easily whipped a M915 line haul tractor around cones and backed its massive trailer into a loading dock area. His 403rd counterparts took a moment to cool off in the shade from the North Carolina sun.

They all had smiles on their faces, barely focusing on Price.

“He’s got this,” one said.

There was that confidence again.

Price, when approached after dismounting the truck, said his success stems from his years of driving for a logging company before putting on the uniform. That pedigree is shared as well by Holloway, who operated semis for six and a half years before enlisting.

The collective years in the field between each Soldier proved vital in each event, including taking heavy equipment trucks through a serpentine of cones.

Eventually, the platoon’s vast experience, hard work, and confidence, led to a favorable end game, first place.

“Our team went in assuming victory. In the end, it became a tighter competition than expected,” said Peterson. “This win for us verified our training and job skills.”

For their efforts, Peterson’s team and the 330th Bn. took home a custom-made wagon wheel emblazoned with a plate declaring their victory.